Tbeeitoet



(No ModeL) 5Sheets-Sheet 1."

N. 0. SWENSON.

GAR BRAKE AND COUPLING.

No. 258,264. Patented May 23,1882.

INVENTOR W/T/VESSES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

N. O. SWENSON.

GAR BRAKE AND GOUPLING.

N0. 258,264. Patented May 23,1882.

unz lmyx I m VENTOR I M 6 WITNESSES (No Model.)

5Sheets-Sheet 3 N. O. SWENSON GAR BRAKE AND COUPLING. v No. 258,264. V Patented. May 23,1882.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

N. 0. SWENSON.

GAR BRAKE AND COUPLING.

No. 258,264; 4 -Patented May 23, 1882.

s Photo-Lithographer Wnhingtnn, o. c

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

v N. O, $WENSON.

GAR BRAKE AND COUPLING.

Patented May 5 VFTITi TESNJJS 65, QMWM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NILs oLoF swnnson, on TERRAVILLE, DAKOTA TERRITORY.

CAR BRAKE AND COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,264, dated May 23, 1882.

Application filed March 9, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NILs OLOF Swanson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Terraville, in the county of Lawrence and Territory of Dakota-,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Automatic Car Brake and Coupling; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchaswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is the construction and arrangement ofan automatic car brake andconplin g mechanism operated from within the draw-head, by which all or part or any one of the cars can be coupled and the brakes applied separately by the backward motion of the locomotive. V

Itconsists in the combination of a bufier or draw-head,'coupling mechanism, spring pusharm, levers, rods',brake-beams, and independ ent improvements on some of these parts, as more particularly hereinafter set forth, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figurelis a plan view ofa truck with my improvements attached; Fig. 2, a side elevation in section, showing more particular] y the braking mechanism; Fig. 3, a sectional view of bufl'er, showing spring push-arm and couplingmechanism, and Fig. 4. a plan view of the same; Fig.

5, a sectional view of bumper, showing means of connection therewith of a link for operating the brake and for reversing said link when ears are not to be coupled automatically; Fig. 6, a plan view, and Fig. 7 an end view, of the same; Fig. 8, a side elevation of the bottom of the car, showing the push-arm and its connections.

The same letters represent similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents a draw-head of the ordinary bell-shaped configuration, and provided at its rear end with the usual bolt and spiral spring to resist shocks. In mode of construction, however, this draw-head difi'ers from others in being formed of two platesan upper andalowerone,band c,joinedby bolts. Within thelower plate, c,.as shown in Fig. 4, are secured two spring coupling-hooks, 1 and2, a lever, g, for withdrawing said hooks from each other, and

the rear buffing-bolt, f, which rests in a groove, and the head of which is confined in a recess, d.

B is a push-arm located between the coupling-hooks, extending upward through a slot in the bed-plate c, and provided with a forked head, b, sliding between and projecting above the hooks 1 and 2. On the under side of plate 0 may be seen the opposite forked end, i, of pusharm 13, made in a separate piece and connected to the forward part of B by screws-pin m. Part I is provided with flange and rounded projection 0, constructed to slide in slotted box 1) and against a spiral spring contained therein, and which box is cast to the under side of plate a. At the'end of boxp is a plug, p, held therein by a .pin, against which the spring abuts, and

which plug can be easily removed to repairthe spring, to put in a new one, and to also permit the part Z of push-arm B to be. slid out or U put in through the box, when desired, for re-' pair or replacement by a new one, without taking apart the draw-head or removing other parts. nished with a guideway, q, for the upper projecting head, 0, of push arm B, and also with a recess, 61, to correspond with 'recess'd, for the reception and retention of the spring-bolt f.

The books 1 and 2 are held in the lower plate, a, by means of pins 34, passing through upper plate, through curved portions of the hooks, rest-ingin corresponding recesses, 5 and 6, and through the lower plate. These pins act as fulcrums for the books 1 and 2. The

rear ends of the hooks are connected by a,

curved steel spring, r, the action of which serves to keep them in engagement with an arrowheaded coupling-link. The rear ends of said hooks are also arranged to approach each other by sliding on rod S, passing through slots in the hooks, one end of which is fastened by means of a pin passing through an eye in the rod, as at t, and the other end of rod passing into a slot oflever g, and there held by an eye and pin in such position that on turninglever g backward the hooks 1 and 2 are disengaged from the coupling-link, and can be so held that the cars need not be coupled, if so desired, by fixing the handle of lever g into the The under side of upper plate, I), is fured or otherwise secured to swinging rod 1;. The said lever D, just-back of itscurved arms,

passes through a movable frame, 10, which is' raised and lowered within boxes 11 and 12 (shown in Fig. 8) by lever H.

Attached to rod '0 are arms E and E, which are pivoted at their lower ends to brake-beam F, suspended by chains from the cross-piece I. The front brake-beam, F, and the rear brakebeam, Gr, (also suspended by chains from the cross-piece I,) are connected by rods or arms '0 and e by a link attachment, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

When in position for braking, the end 2 cf lever D rests within the forked end I of the push-arm B, so as to be acted upon bythe push-arm when pressure is applied thereto by entrance ofa link within the draw-head and against the head I) of the push-arm; but when it is desired not to brake the cars the end z of lever D is dropped below the forked end I of the :push-arm by lowering the frame 10 by means of lever H. This lever H consists of handle 8, rod 9, secured loosely in bearin gs in strips jj and extending across the bottom of the car under the lever D, and slotted rod k, to which frame 10 is hinged, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8. The handle of said lever H is provided with a pin or catch to hold thelever in rack 14. Under one of the side strips, j, and held on the rod 9 by a collar, is a spiral spring, 15, which operates to throw the lever down when released from the rack 14. The slotted end of rod is is connected to the frame 10 by a loosely-moving strap, 17, so that when the end 2 of forked lever D is raised and lowered by lever H the said strap will slide backward and forward in the slot sufficiently to permit the raising and lowering of the frame 10 without cramping .or jamming any of the parts.

18- is a spling, (shown in Figs. 1 and 2,) secured at its lower end to cross-piece I and at,

its upper end to the center of the lever D, between its forked arms, which serves, when-the pressure upon the brakesis removed, to release them from the wheels and to throw the lever D forward again to engage with the forked "end Z of the push-arm.

L is an ordinary form ot' chain'-brake, the

chain h of which runs back under the car, over I the brake-beams, through aperture 20 in crosspieee I, and is connected to arm 22 of leverM. Lever M consists of two rods or arms, 23 24, secured to the outer ends of rod 21 of lever D, and running back through holes 20 and '21 in center piece, I, there connected by cross-rod 25, from the center of which extends arm 26, pivoted to arm 22. By these means a car can be braked without coupling, or after it is uncoupled, as when a car is separated from the rest of the cars and pushed backward or onto a siding.

Instead of using a double set of rods, as shown, a single rod may be employed running from the center of forked lever D to the center of both brake-beams.

O is a link, open, and with an arrow-head at one end, the head of which fits snugly into the with the hook mechanism a link with arrowheads at both ends may be employed; but when itis desired to use my improvements in connection with an ordinary coupling-pin, or with an ordinary form of car, one or both ends of which are not provided with the hooking mechanism, 1 make the link 0 with one end closed in the usual manner. The draw-heads are provided with holes 27, by which to use the common form of couplingpin with the closed link. The-pin and closed link are also used when it is not desired to brake the cars.

VV-henit is-desired to use the arrow-head of open link the other end of the link is securely confined in one of the draw-heads by means of a bolt or pin, 28, and a spring-catch, 29, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Pin 28 has one side of its lower end beveled, as shown in Fig. 7, and when slid upward from the under side of the car through the hole in thedraw-head it comes in contact with the end of the springcatch 29, which passes into hole 30 in the end of the pin, and thus holds it in place. The spring-catch is secured to the top-of the drawhead by screw-staples, as shown in Fig. 6.

wheels and push the rear brake-beam backward against the wheels.

This whole arrangementis shown applied to freight-cars; but the coupling and braking mechanisms can be'applied equally as well to passenger-cars. In such case, however, the levers for withdrawing the coupling-hooks from each other and for throwing the. brake-lever in and out of connection with the push-arm are by a different arran gement (not here shown) brought forward and operated from the platform.

It'is also evident, as alreadyshown,that my arrangement does not prevent the use of the common form ofclosed link and pin in coupling with cars which are not provided with'my automatic coupling and braking mechanisms.

It will be seen, too, that in my structure all the parts are simple, easily accessible, and can be quickly taken apart for repair and replacement by new parts without disturbing the others.

A number of the parts shown can be changed in form and operation without departing from IIO the principle of my invention. For instance, other forms of springs can be used for operating the coupling-hooks within the draw-head than the curved spring shown, and the form of levers and, their connections for throwing in and out of operation the coupling and braking mechanisms may be varied.

Having thus described by invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination of the automatic coupling mechanism, consisting of the spring-hooks pivoted within the draw-head, and the pusharm of an automatic braking mechanism provided with ahead sliding between the couplinghooks within the draw-head, substantially as described.

2. The braking mechanism consisting of the push-arm B, provided with projecting head I), and the forked end I, and controlledby action of a spring, in combination with the brakinglever D, brake-beams, and their connectin g arms or rods, substantially as described.

3. The spring coupling-hooks 1 and 2, pivoted, as described, within the draw-head between the plates b c, in combination with said plates, the rod S, on which the rear ends of said hooks slide, the lever g, and rack-bar u, substantially asset forth.

spring-catch 29, attached to the top of said draw-head, and the beveled pin 28, provided with a hole to receive the said catch for the purpose of securing the link within the drawhead, substantially as described. 45

7. In combination with the draw-head, the box p, provided with a plug, 1), to contain a spring and afford a support for the piece I of push-arm B, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 50 presence of two witnesses.

NILS OLOF SWENSON.

Witnesses:

JNO. R. YOUNG, JAMES A. RUTHERFORD. 

